It’s a Look: A Heart-to-Heart With Man Repeller, Fashion’s New Ick Girl

You’re like, “I’m moving out there immediately.”
Yeah, right. And sometimes I get e-mails from men saying, “How could you do this to my girlfriend?” That’s also funny. One guy even proposed to me via Twitter.

So are you dating anyone?
I don’t comment on my relationship status vis à vis the blog.

Do you think of Man Repeller in political terms at all?
I didn’t neccesarily aim for the blog to make any sort of feministic statement, but I did want it to serve as an open forum for women to draw their own conclusions, whether it be something as simple as “This is what I want to wear tomorrow” or a more complex millennial statement about women, fashion, men and feminism.

What’s the garment that you think men hate the most?
I think that the harem pant is particularly offensive. That has to be the worst, because pants are usually a really good way to show a woman’s silhouette. If she has really nice legs, you can see them in her pants. That alone annoys a man, because he’d rather see her in a short skirt, and so for the pants to be harem-style–with a crotch so low that, from the back it looks like she’s wearing a dirty diaper and from the front you’re like, “Is she wearing a long skirt or is she wearing pants?”—it kind of confuses them. And it makes her look 15 pounds heavier.

On the other hand, is there anything that seems man repelling that you think they secretly like?
I thought that red lipstick was a definite man repeller, and though men say that it gives off this bitchy, unkissable vibe, it’s really sexy to see. So that was interesting for me.

You’re 22. What’s your typical weekend like?
I don’t go out that much. My family’s Jewish, so I do Shabbat dinner with my family on Friday nights. Saturday night I’ll go out–I’m a big fan of the Jane. I’m not a club-goer, although I do like to dance. But definitely more of a go-to-the-bar, have-a-drink, go-home type of girl. I haven’t lived with my parents all this time. I had an apartment the first two years of college, and my friends used to make fun of me. They were like, “Why do you have this self-inflicted two a.m. curfew? No one is telling you to be home by two.” And I’d be like, “Guys it’s getting late, I have to go home, I have to go home.” Because nothing is worse than a hungover Sunday when you have so much stuff to do.

So you live on the Upper East Side—not exactly a hotbed of man-repelling outfits. What neighborhoods do you frequent for inspiration?I was at The Smile yesterday for brunch and I was like, “This is where man repeller meets hipster meets ‘I shouldn’t hang out anywhere else.'” So I would say, that exact spot. I think it’s on Bond between Lafayette and Mulberry? Something like that. Because of that restaurant, The Smile–and it’s right next door to Oak–I feel like that neighborhood has a really high concentration of super stylish, unique-personal-style girls. It’s beautiful.

What about Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg?
I guess I’m not that familiar with it, because I don’t venture to Brooklyn that often, even though every time I go I’m like, I have to hang out here more often. But from what I’ve gathered, it’s not that different from Lower East Side fashion, which is sort of what I try to incorporate into my look. Because even though I live uptown, it always annoys me when people are like, “Oh, you’re not a hipster, you’re not supposed to be dressing like that.” I’m like, “It’s my life, I can dress however I want, ‘k?”

You’ve got one semester left at the New School. Has it been hard to keep up with classes?Yeah, last semester, especially toward the end, I felt like I was hanging on by such a loose thread. I literally did enough to get by, and that’s it, you know? I’m so nervous that I’m not going to graduate on time, and I only have one semester left, so it’s totally outrageous if I can’t. I just have to finish my senior thesis and then I’m done, but I do have to remind myself that my education comes before the blog.

What are your plans for Fashion Week?
I was invited to be on this Teen Vogue blogger panel in Vegas that’s smack in the middle of Fashion Week. And I spoke to a few of my friends who are immersed in the industry, and every single one of them was like, “You cannot go to Vegas for this panel. This is a huge Fashion Week for you.” I’ve already been receiving some Save the Dates and such, so I’m going to stay. But I mean, I’ve realized Fashion Weeks are like the two weeks out of every year when Style.com gets a million page views and my blog has like, no hits. Last year, I was like, “Oh my god, no! People are sick of the Man Repeller!”

They’ll come back.
Hope so. Also, I forgot to mention–I’m styling a friend of mine‘s Fashion Week presentation. So that’s probably going to be the highlight of my week.